‘Govt dragging feet in grazing dispute’

HUNDREDS of people in the Ukwangali tribal area staged a demonstration on December 15 to express their dissatisfaction with the Government’s response to the grazing dispute in the Kavango.

The demonstration was held at Nkurenkuru in western Kavango. The protesters were unhappy about the delay in evicting Oshiwambo-speaking cattle farmers and their herds from the Ukwangali grazing area.In a petition to Lands and Resettlement Minister Jerry Ekandjo, handed over to an official of the Ministry, Vilho Shikukumwa, the protesters accused the Government of delaying the implementation of a Cabinet decision that the farmers from the former Owambo must remove their herds from the Kavango Region.The Oshiwambo farmers have refused to budge despite receiving eviction orders from the Kavango Land Board on November 26.Failure to comply with the eviction orders could incur a one-year jail term or a fine of N$4 000.The Oshiwambo-speaking farmers say they have nowhere to take their herds because large areas of the former Owambo are fenced off by rich farmers.They have said that they would only move their herds if the Government and the Ondonga and Oukwanyama tribal authorities gave them land in former Owambo.The Ukwangali demonstrators called on the Government to re-erect the border fence that used to separate the Ukwangali and former Owamboland areas to avoid similar grazing disputes in future.In their petition, they compared the presence of the Oshiwambo-speaking farmers and their herds to the Casspir armoured vehicles used by Koevoet forces that destroyed their crops before Independence.”What is the difference between the Koevoet Casspirs and the animals of the illegal cattle herders, since both destroy the crops of the inhabitants and leave them with no food,” the demonstrators said.They accused the Government of using delaying tactics to keep the cattle herders in western Kavango in violation of agreements between the Government, the Ukwangali Traditional Authority and the Ondonga and Oukwanyama Traditional Authorities.They further claimed that the Oshiwambo-speaking farmers were violating national laws such as Articles 102 subsection 5 and Article 10, subsection 1 of the Namibian Constitution, the Traditional Authority Act as well as the Communal Land Reform Act.When approached by The Namibian last week, the Deputy Director of Resettlement in the Ministry of Lands, Simion Kandjii, said he would only be able to comment on the issue at a later stage.The protesters were unhappy about the delay in evicting Oshiwambo-speaking cattle farmers and their herds from the Ukwangali grazing area.In a petition to Lands and Resettlement Minister Jerry Ekandjo, handed over to an official of the Ministry, Vilho Shikukumwa, the protesters accused the Government of delaying the implementation of a Cabinet decision that the farmers from the former Owambo must remove their herds from the Kavango Region.The Oshiwambo farmers have refused to budge despite receiving eviction orders from the Kavango Land Board on November 26.Failure to comply with the eviction orders could incur a one-year jail term or a fine of N$4 000.The Oshiwambo-speaking farmers say they have nowhere to take their herds because large areas of the former Owambo are fenced off by rich farmers.They have said that they would only move their herds if the Government and the Ondonga and Oukwanyama tribal authorities gave them land in former Owambo.The Ukwangali demonstrators called on the Government to re-erect the border fence that used to separate the Ukwangali and former Owamboland areas to avoid similar grazing disputes in future.In their petition, they compared the presence of the Oshiwambo-speaking farmers and their herds to the Casspir armoured vehicles used by Koevoet forces that destroyed their crops before Independence.”What is the difference between the Koevoet Casspirs and the animals of the illegal cattle herders, since both destroy the crops of the inhabitants and leave them with no food,” the demonstrators said.They accused the Government of using delaying tactics to keep the cattle herders in western Kavango in violation of agreements between the Government, the Ukwangali Traditional Authority and the Ondonga and Oukwanyama Traditional Authorities.They further claimed that the Oshiwambo-speaking farmers were violating national laws such as Articles 102 subsection 5 and Article 10, subsection 1 of the Namibian Constitution, the Traditional Authority Act as well as the Communal Land Reform Act.When approached by The Namibian last week, the Deputy Director of Resettlement in the Ministry of Lands, Simion Kandjii, said he would only be able to comment on the issue at a later stage.